Like how it had disappeared, Albatross reappeared with a flash of light. Below, I could see that we were flying above the wood between my house and Huck's fort, and the wood had become creepy and scary like how I remembered, which meant that we had arrived in the past, or maybe I should say the present. I then piloted Albatross to land on the outfield of Strawberryland. Coincidentally, two friends we knew were walking there when we arrived. They were Blueberry and Rainbow, and they remained unchanged although noticeably taller.

"Alright, welcome to the present," I said. Opening the hatch. "We have been missing for six years, so prepare for a reunion."

All of us then jumped out from Albatross, and as expected, the two girls looked at us in disbelief.

"Strawberry Shortcake...?" Blueberry asked.

"Is that really you...?" Rainbow asked.

"Why yes, it's me!" Strawberry said. "Have I been missing for so long?"

"Long? Six years is absoloo-tely long!" Blueberry said, jumping to Strawberry to hug her.

"You sure have changed, mateys," Rainbow said, looking at Strawberry and the others.

"Yep, a lot of things have happened and I bet we all can't wait to tell everyone about it, am I right?" Ginger said. "Let's call everyone to the clubhouse for a huge big reunion party, shall we, huh everyone?"

"That's a nice idea!" Angel said.

"Yeah, I agree with that," Orange said.

"Well, why not?" Peppermint said.

"Apple Dumplin' likes to tell stories!" Apple said.

"I'll park Albatross at my home first then," I said. "I'll meet you later."

"Okay, see you later," Huck said as I rode into Albatross and flew away.

"Well, maybe you can start telling us some stories while walking?" Rainbow asked as the group started to walk towards the clubhouse.

"That's strange. I remember being away for six years along with you all," Strawberry said. "But I can't remember that one friend of us who just left."

"One friend of us? Hey, only seven of us have been away. Nobody else," Huck said.

"Oh yeah, you're right! Why all of us have been imagining an imaginary friend, huh?" Ginger said.

"Then could you tell us a bit about where you have been going?" Blueberry asked.

"Well, we have been staying in a place called The Land of Oz," Strawberry said as the group kept walking.

Meanwhile, I arrived at my home to park Albatross next to Falcon and Blackbird. I landed it successfully and jumped out from it. However, soon I noticed something strange on me. My hands had become semi-transparent and a slight distortion happened every few seconds. Wondering about what was happening, I went inside my home and checked the Time Monitor.

"Okay, let's see..." I said as I started the device. A few minutes later, I learned something quite surprising. Our trip through the Black Hole twice, along with the recent time travel, has created an interference within the flow of time. As the result, time travels in certain timelines had been disabled.

"Hmm, that still doesn't explain the thing happening to me... Wait!" I said, realizing something horrible. I then checked the Time Monitor once more and soon I learned that my fear was true. Out of all timelines, one of the timelines where time travels are disabled was the one where I had healed my past self from a fatal wound. If that time travel had never happened, that meant nobody had ever come to heal me. If nobody had ever come to heal me, that meant...

"That time... I was..." I said in disbelief. "...Dead?"

Right after saying that word, My whole body started to fade away with sparkles floating from it. The same thing happened to my whole house, and it continued until everything disappeared without a trace.

So... That's it
I was meant to die at that time
I was never meant to meet anyone
Nobody was ever meant to meet me
I was never meant to exist among them

I drifted in a dark space
With nothing but darkness
But then...
I saw light...
A bright light...
And it started to speak to me

"Greetings, My son."

Who are you?

"I am what people call as The Creator."

The Creator...?

"Yes, My son. I created the world, and also many other worlds along with the life on them."

Strawberryland too...?

"Your world is just one of many worlds I have created, My son. Although I must say that your world is more special than most others."

Special...?

"In most other worlds, at first I created only a few pairs of people, some only one pair, and let them multiply and develop the world by themselves."

I see..

"However, many of the people in your world are created by My Own hands without a pair. Also, to halt their multiplication I created most of them as female."

That explains why boys and men are scarce...

"That's right, My son. However, I also made them to be much more self-sufficient."

Including... my friends?

"Yes, My son. I created them Myself. One day, I wanted your friend Strawberry to have a little sister so I created Apple and put the knowledge of it inside her head."

That explains everything about Apple, and also why we don't have parents. Could you also tell me why I still remember about everything that happened recently, even though I was supposed to die long before?

"The flow of time is a complicated matter, My son. Different things can happen as the consequence of one disturbance to the flow of time. In your case this time, your existence will not be remembered by anyone, but your own memories and deeds on them will remain."

My deeds?

"Yes, My son. The garden you have helped to grow for them, the lives you have saved at the cost of injuring your hands, the costumes you have duplicated for your friend, everything will remain but nobody will remember who has done them."

Then how about...

"It will take a long time to answer all of your questions, My son. So, I will put all the knowledge about them in your head."

...It's now clear to me. Thank you. But what will happen to me now?

"Come with me, My son. I will take you to another world, where you will start your new life. It will be harsh, but I believe you will get through the obstacles and live a happy life, until the time we meet again."

Thank you...

So, I started a new life in a new world. At first I had no memory at all about my previous life, but recently the memories started to come back to me one by one and I decided to write a journal about it. I'm not sure if I'm accurate in writing all parts, but at least I tried. Like what He had said, the new world is much more difficult to live on. I no longer have the ability to invent devices, things are harder to gain and easier to lose, everyday is a hard work, and many other things. However, in this new world I have my parents who love me and whom I love in return, and also a brother to love and take care of. Not to mention the friends I have around me. I will live a happy life, and I know I can make that happen.

By the way, in this new world, my name is no longer Blackberry Bun. Now my name is... Sandy.